After being cancelled because its organizers couldn’t find a venue willing to host it, this weekend’s white nationalist American Renaissance conference is back on again — this time at a Washington D.C. hotel where two similar events were recently held.

Jared Taylor, who heads American Renaissance, told conference registrants yesterday that the group had booked the Capitol Skyline Hotel near downtown Washington. The conference was dropped by three other area hotels following a campaign by anti-racist activists. “We have found a venue with backbone and the conference will take place!” Taylor wrote. “Hotel management is prepared for the worst and will not back down!”

The Capitol Skyline was the venue for two events held by the American Free Press (AFP), a blatantly anti-Semitic newspaper. Former U.S. Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio), who recently served a seven-year prison sentence for federal corruption, spoke at AFP’s Feb 13 conference at the hotel. And on Nov. 7, ex-Klan boss David Duke and anti-Jewish conspiracy theorist Texe Marrs appeared together there at another AFP-sponsored gathering.

“They’ve made it somewhat of a haven for hate groups to come and hold their events here when no one else will have them,” said Jeffrey Imm, founder of the human rights group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.).

Imm, who helped inform local hotels about the conference, said he has reached out to the hotel’s general manager, Jeff Ragonese, and to the Rubell family of Rubell Hotels, which owns the Capitol Skyline Hotel. The Rubells are prominent Miami art collectors whose business and charitable endeavors have been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Neither Ragonese nor Jason Rubell returned calls from Hatewatch this afternoon.

The unprecedented campaign against this year’s American Renaissance conference has provoked an outcry from white nationalists, who have made the jacket-and-tie affair a popular event. Traditionally held in the Washington. D.C.. area, the three-day conference features prominent far-right politicians, academic racists and other extremists from around the world.

Taylor said in a news release this week that more than 250 people had registered for the ninth biannual conference, scheduled to begin late Friday. Over the past several months, anti-racist activists had persuaded the Washington Dulles Marriott, the Westin Washington Dulles Hotel and the Four Points by Sheraton Manassas Battlefield to cancel their contracts with New Century Foundation, American Renaissance’s parent organization. Although the conference has attracted demonstrators in the past, Taylor said yesterday on Derek Black’s radio show that it’s the first time in the event’s 16-year history that a venue has rescinded its booking of American Renaissance.

I was also working at one of the above mentioned hotels and we most certainly received death threats.
I am certain that this has been a huge scam by Jared Tayler and his group, as they have each hotel place an enormous cancellation clause in their contracts. Once the contract is signed, the ‘threats’ begin to pour in and the Corporate offices have no other option than to cancel due to the safety of the guest’s and employees. Jared then collects the large cancellation payments. I know for a fact that they have received over $100,000 in cancellations from five separate hotels in just the month of Feb. 2010 alone. Someone needs to investigate these evil people.

Samantha

I was working at the hotel during this planned meeting, and there were NO DEATH THREATS!!! (on employees)
Someone came into the hotel and placed little sheets of paper saying the hotel supports racism under every guest door. Well, those guests came down to complain, saying they were leaving due to this. Also, I am sure the owners received alot of emails about boycotting the hotel.

Curtis Sprissler

Everybody involved is well aware of the death threats. These hotels would not have broken their contracts due a harmless protesting.

Here Dan Roodt, who has debated AGAINST Jared Taylor, also complains about “goons phoning in death threats” in spite of his opinion: “My own strong preference, as I argued in that debate with Jared, would be for everybody to shut up with the race business.”http://www.amren.com/mtnews/ar.....ty_die.php

Here is his open letter to Jeffery Imm:http://www.praag.co.uk/columns.....alism.html
“Why would you want to undermine that principle [free speech] by threatening hotels in Washington with boycotts, “shaming” and even death threats?”

And all of that is available on the American Renaissance web site’s front page. Before calling somebody’s statements “irresponsible” the responsible thing to do would be to at the very least check the American Renaissance web site.

Against Intolerance

Economic boycott is certainly a legitimate tool for expressing one’s values. I disagree, however, that marginalizing, humiliating, or threatening people who are supportive or interested in American Renaissance will lead to less hatred and greater understanding, which I thought is what those who hate that organization claim to be seeking. As in any conflict, what is needed to move towards peace and good will between peoples is a committment towards mutual respect and willingness to practice shared dialogue. I find myself in agreement with the following comments by Carol Swain, an African-American and a professor of law at Vanderbilt:
“…current discussions of controversial racial issues often take place in an atmosphere where political correctness dictates that people either remain silent about their true convictions or engage in dissimulation or subterfuge… Herein, I believe, lies a real danger for the future of American race relations. Because few legitimate arenas exist for white Americans to discuss their genuine fears on such racial issues as black-on white crime, their impending minority status, and the continued existence of racial preference programs, white nationalists have stepped to the forefront and are encouraging a divisive form of white identity politics that has ominous implications for the future. White nationalists are providing white Americans with the only forums where they can openly express their anxieties and fears on racial matters among an attentive and sympathetic audience that will not simply dismiss what they say as the rantings of racist bigots.
“What is most needed now, I believe, is for white nationalists to be heard and debated in mainstream forums where there data and ideas can be openly evaluated and subjected to critical assessment.” (The New White Nationalism In America pages 34-35)

The SPLC cannot point to anything that Amren has done which is “racist”, they merely assert, assert, assert it until it sinks in to the minds of those who are brainwashed and affected by this meaningless word.

But the gig is up – the racial differences which are drastic can be ignored no longer. People all over are waking up and the SPLC desperately seeks to hold onto their agenda as evidence to the contrary becomes more and more obvious.

Your house of cards is collapsing, just deal with it.

muaythai

“There are some among us that would rather see a public debate against these people rather than boycotting public appearances.”
Yulp.

Just let ‘em have their conference! Making death threats is nothing to be proud of. If you really want to do something go down there and protest. Get some media involved, make a big deal out of it.

I asked for a CREDIBLE link to stories about the alleged “death threats”, and someone provided a link to VDARE!

It looks like that challenge won’t be met.

There are some among us that would rather see a public debate against these people rather than boycotting public appearances. Good idea in theory, but these kind of cowards will never answer a challenge to a public debate that they can’t control (e.g., Fox News).

And speaking of good ol’ Fixed Noise…all of you American Renaissance members who are SO persecuted by the marxist/communist/socialist/maoist/reverse-racist/zionist/fascist (that’s interesting)/homosexual/liberal machine, fret not! You’ll always have that cable outlet.

Parker Land

Curtis Sprissler needs to back up that irresponsible statement. I’ll be happy to forward him my e-mail to Rubell and let him see that there were no threats to anyone’s life. Is this how the haters work?

Parker Land

I have received a responding e-mail from Jason Rubell that indicates, “This meeting has been cancelled from the hotel. Regards, Jason”. Wow!

Parker Land

I have already e-mailed Jason Rubell and indicated I will not stay at any of his hotels. (I go to the DC area often and love to stay in the city.) His right to book the conference; my right to spend my money with businesses that do not support hate speech.

skinnyminny

Okay, so you got your conference! So what! Just remember to smile for the cameras, LOL! Hopefully these will look better than your future mugshots! ROTFLMAO!!!

Nicole

Thank you. I live a few blocks from the Skyline and I am glad you have made me aware of this and their past activities. I now plan on exercising my right to free speech to no longer patronize their facilities or have my family stay there when they visit and I will let them know exactly why. I will look into whether any protests against this conference are materializing as well.

Curtis Sprissler

It should be noted that “anti-racist activists” would be more accurately described as “terrorists” in this case.

The hotels backed out – this now includes the Capitol Skyline Hotel, by the way – due to explicit death threats against their employees, who have nothing to do with the conference.